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The White Stripes: Under The Blackpool Lights Review

Jack and Meg Whites determinedly enigmatic demeanour aside, they undoubtedly cut an impressive swathe through identikit bubblegum pop with their rambunctious, back-to-basics, bass-free rock. Granted a brief theatrical showcase before release on DVD, Dick Carruthers concert film captures the duo at Blackpools Empress Ballroom in January this year, whipping through 26 songs drawn from their four albums in a scant 77 minutes, while serving up a strangely great cover of Dolly Partons Jolene. Stripped of the suffocating hype and purely focused on the music, the pair become an altogether more enjoyable proposition for the wary, while fans will obviously lap this up. As a concert film, its nothing special, with Carruthers plying a deliberately shaky, amateur-like shooting style on grainy video, which, of course, probably makes it all exceedingly hip.